Day 1. Slow Cooker Thai Beef Stew

I can honestly say the pictures illustrating the recipes in this book would make anyone instantly hungry.  Seriously.  So when I flipped to the page with the recipe listed and saw the photo of the finished product, I could not wait to start cooking. 

Almost every ingredient listed in the book can be found at your local grocery store.  This helped with my “gather the week’s worth of groceries” run this morning.  One thing I will note is Danielle Walker is amazing.  She specifically mentions brands that she has used and stands behind.  So for anyone who is trying a recipe with new-to-you ingredients list, pay close attention to the brands she lists in the “tidbits” section. 

The Thai Beef Stew is incredible.  It was surprisingly easy to make and is a slow cooker recipe so you can cook it all day, for those people who are gone all day.

One of the interesting ingredients is something called Jicama.  I know, I know, what in the world is Jicama??  I had no clue…. So thanks to Google I now know that it is a sweet root vegetable that looks like a turnip and a coconut had a love child.  It is round-ish and a light brown color.  It is solid so it is a little difficult to cut into, but the flavor is great!  It is crunchy and sweet.  For me, I hate water chestnut with a passion, so to find something that has the crunch without the slime-like texture of a water chestnut is great! 

I should also note I do not own a slow cooker.  After today I need to get one.  I had the genius idea to just cook the dish in one of my pots.  Well, I burned the bottom of it. (Go me!) Aside from my own “user error” the food is incredible.  It smells delicious.  The flavor is unlike anything I’ve ever made before.  The sauce is spicy, yet creamy.  The meat is tender and juicy.  

I served the stew over the Against All Grain cilantro cauliflower rice.  Honestly, I was not looking forward to cauliflower rice because I have tried to substitute rice for the cauliflower option and never liked the taste.  Plus, cauliflower smells kind of odd to me.  But this recipe is amazing.  It is the best rice substitute I have ever had and I will be making it again!

And the husband LOVED it!  He ate everything on his plate and was really curious about what vegetables were in the stew.  When I told him about my plan to cook my way through the cookbook, he was initially nervous.  After tonight’s delicious dinner, he cannot wait to see what is next!

If you are cooking your way through Against All Grain, please let me know! I’d love to hear your feedback and any recipes you love!

-Kim